On 9 January 2025, Police were dispatched to an urgent family harm incident on Cockayne Road in Wellington. A man was reportedly armed with a large knife and was chasing a woman who was holding a baby in the street.
Three officers located the man at a nearby bus stop. He was standing at the entrance of the bus shelter, while the woman was sitting on a bench behind him, still holding the baby. The man had half of a hedge-trimming scissor in his hand. An officer attempted to communicate with him, and the man became focused on Police. The woman managed to escape from behind him and began to run away. The man noticed her fleeing and moved purposefully toward her with the weapon in hand.
One officer deployed a Taser against the man, but it was ineffective. At that moment, the man turned around and faced the officers in an aggressive stance. As he started pulling out the Taser wires that had made contact with him, two other officers discharged their Tasers at him in quick succession.
This time, the Taser was effective, causing the man to fall and hit his head on the tarmac road surface. He sustained a serious head injury and was taken to Wellington Hospital.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority conducted an investigation and concluded that the officers were justified in using their Tasers against the man to protect the woman and the baby, as well as to ensure their own safety and that of their colleagues. We also concluded that the Police did not delay medical care for the man and that they appropriately discharged their duty of care toward him.
Public Report
Man suffers serious head injury after Taser use by three officers in Wellington (PDF 349 KB)
